EWOB NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS


Good news from the European World of Bluegrass Festival! Open any story by clicking its headline.

EWOB's 2010 Instrument Raffle, for a beautiful Blue Ridge BR-140 dreadnought style guitar, donated by Boetzke's Snaarinstrumenten in Holland, was won by Mevr. H. van Opijnen of Assen, the Netherlands. See the guitar here. (Updated June 11, 2010) 

PHOTOS from the EWOB FESTIVAL 2010!!! (updated May 18, 2010)

Read about a newcomer's EWOB Festival experience: The EWOB Festival 2010, by Erwin Bauwens (posted May 18, 2010)

The Northern California Bluegrass Society is proud to have so many of its artists perform at EWOB 2010. They've run a short story and photo on their website. (May 18, 2010)

 

 

CAMPERS PLEASE NOTE: Some set-up time limitations for the campground this year. Also, tents will only be allowed in the parking lot this year, so be prepared for camping on hard pavement. There is plenty of camping space, and a tool will be available to make it possible to drive tent pegs into the ground - so, free camping and lots of outdoor picking as usual.

EWOB Festival 2010 Program and Emcees list updated April 15, 2010.

2010 Workshop Program details updated April 12, 2010. 

R.I.P. Sally Gray (wife of bass player Tom Gray), April 5, 2010.

New Press Release: EWOB Festival 2010 (updated March 22, 2010)

Japan's venerable bluegrass publication, Moonshiner, will be running a feature on the EWOB Festival, written by Don Kissil (formerly editor/publisher of Pickin' Magazine, USA) in their April issue.

For those of us who cannot read Japanese, Don Kissil's article about the EWOB Festival will run in the March-April issue of the USA's Bluegrass Music Profiles print magazine. Be sure to pick up a copy!

EWOB Festival 2010 Program: Who's playing this year's festival and when! (Updated March 3, 2010)

EWOB Festival 2010 Trade Show (updated Feb. 20, 2010)

EWOB 2010 Volunteers info (updated Feb. 20, 2010)

R.I.P. Milan Leppelt (Bluegrass Cwrkot, Czech Republic)

 

EWOB Festival 2009 FanMail from the Public
Many such notes end up in the Guestbook, but some come to us by direct email. We'd like to share these firsthand festival impresssions with you.

EWOB Festival 2009 FanMail from the Musicians
It is heartwarmin g to see how much the musicians enjoy the EWOB Festival, and the whole EWOB Team really appreciates their remarks.

The New York Times recognizes European Bluegrass!
Bluegrass Thrives, Far From Home, By Ruth Ellen Gruber, Published: April 9, 2009, The New York Times
     PRAGUE - A recent concert in Prague demonstrated the far-flung reach of an infectious musical genre that spells "Americana" from the first ringing twang of a finger-picked string.
     It was a concert of bluegrass music - but the event was a far cry from the high lonesome hills of Appalachia. Read more.

Top Albums of 2008 - "10 YEARS OF EWOB" CD Makes the Top Ten!
2008 was a banner year for bluegrass, marking the introduction of European bluegrass to the professional music world via a terrific double CD from Strictly Country Records called 10 YEARS OF EUROPEAN WORLD OF BLUEGRASS. We're delighted to announce that 10 YEARS OF EWOB was the only bluegrass album to make the Top 10 Albums of 2008 on the Folk Radio Chart, representing radio airplay on folk and bluegrass radio shows. (The chart is international but is concentrated mostly in the USA and Canada.) Radio airplay for 10 YEARS OF EWOB was split equally between European and American artists, perfectly fulfilling the project's goal of bringing Europe and America closer through bluegrass.

Bononia Grass Stars on OurStage
Paolo Ercoli of Bononia Grass (Italy) reports that the band has had great success on OurStage in 2008. On the January OurStage Bluegrass Charts, Bononia Grass has the Top Tracks and ranks among the Most Played, Most Fan Favorite, and Top Fan Clubs. Read more.

Band Applications Online for EWOB 2009!
Bands can apply from SEPTEMBER 20 – DECEMBER 1st, 2008, to perform at the European World of Bluegrass Festival in May, 2009. Application info and forms for the next EWOB Festival will be posted on this page each year in September. Read more.

Acousticure winners in 2008The 2008 European Bluegrass Band Awards

The weather was almost perfect for the 11th European World of Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by the European Bluegrass Music Association on 1-3 May. Attendance remained at peak level, the little Dutch town of Voorthuizen bursting with bluegrass music for 3 days as bands performed throughout the village, and musicians jammed in every corner of the festival venue.
Read complete article below.

Přečtěte si tento článek v češtině (Read this article in Czech.)
Click for PDF Ocenění: Evropská bluegrassová kapela roku 2008

Feeling the Pulse: EWOB 2008 (by Richard Hawkins, Bluegrass Ireland Blog)
Forget about the stage and the concert hall (where, after shows began at 2.00 p.m. on 1 May, it was often hard to find a seat) - the real place to take the pulse of the 11th European World of Bluegrass Festival was the Information and Merchandise table inside the main doors of ‘t Trefpunt. Read more.

EWOB 2008, Voorthuizen, Holland (by Tabea Anderfuhren, Country Music Club of Switzerland Newsletter): English | German
The 11th European World of Bluegrass Festival took place in Holland from May 1st - 3rd, 2008. EWOB is organized by the European Bluegrass Music Association (EBMA), and is known as the highlight of the annual EWOB Month that features bluegrass music all over Europe. Read more.

 

THE 2008 EUROPEAN BLUEGRASS BAND AWARDS

ACOUSTICURE: #1 European Bluegrass Band 2008!
Acousticure
Acousticure, #1 European Bluegrass Band 2008, from Hungary Photo by Liz Meyer

The weather was almost perfect for the 11th European World of Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by the European Bluegrass Music Association on 1-3 May. Attendance remained at peak level, the little Dutch town of Voorthuizen bursting with bluegrass music for 3 days as bands performed throughout the village, and musicians jammed in every corner of the festival venue. The EWOB 2008 Festival featured 41 wonderful bands from 15 countries, including special USA guests Sally Jones & the Sidewinders, Appalachian Uprising, and Dick Staber & Judith Chasnoff, and EWOB's first groups from Norway (Ile Auto and the Holstein United Bluegrass Boys) and Spain (Lluis Gomez Quartet and Autopista 6).

The EWOB 2008 Festival in the Netherlands is the apex of the 30-day European World of Bluegrass, fostering the growth of bluegrass music in cooperation this year with 195 European festivals and events taking place during the "International Bluegrass Month" of May. The EWOB Festival is a music festival and professional convention with trade show and workshops, and hosts the annual European Bluegrass Band competition. In 2003, EWOB became the only European festival ever to win the International Bluegrass Music Association's prestigious Bluegrass Event of the Year Award. www.ewob.eu

We are very pleased to announce the winners of the 2008 European Bluegrass Band Awards, chosen by the EWOB 2008 Festival musicians as their reigning champions:

#1 European Bluegrass Band 2008: ACOUSTICURE (Hungary)
#2 European Bluegrass Band 2008: PETR BRANDEJS BAND (Czech Republic)
#3 European Bluegrass Band 2008: 4-WHEEL DRIVE (The Netherlands)

In addition to the professional band awards, the EWOB Festival audience always elects its own favorite groups from the three days of showcase performances:

#1 Audience Popularity Award, EWOB 2008: BLUEGRASS CWRKOT (Czech Republic)
#2 Audience Popularity Award, EWOB 2008: BLACKJACK (Czech Republic)
#3 Audience Popularity Award, EWOB 2008: SUNNY SIDE (Czech Republic)

The #1 European Bluegrass Band 2008, Acousticure, is the first bluegrass band from Hungary to appear at this colorful international gathering, performing at the past 2 European World of Bluegrass Festivals. An energetic 4-piece group of impressive multi-instrumentalists, Acousticure keeps the sound crew hopping with frequent instrument changes. Their young spokesman, mandolin-fiddler-guitarist Zsolt Pinter, has spent enough time in the USA to speak English like a native, and has a remarkable command of bluegrass-country vocals. Acousticure's musical vision playfully fuses bluegrass influences from old-time to newgrass, sometimes incorporating their native Hungarian folk music. (An example of the latter, Kis Kece Lanyom, can be heard on the European World of Bluegrass 2007 CD from Strictly Country Records, on CD Baby at http://cdbaby.com/cd/ewobluegrass07, Track #22.) The US bluegrass scene will get a chance to experience Acousticure onstage in Nashville at the International Bluegrass Music Association's (IBMA) World of Bluegrass convention in October 2009, where they will perform as the #1 European Bluegrass Band.

Acousticure
Zsolt Pinter of Acousticure (Hungary): award acceptance speech. Photo by Liz Meyer.

ACOUSTICURE:
Zsolt Pinter: fiddle, guitar, mandolin, vocal
Geza Kremnitzky - mandolin, banjo, vocal
Peter Gyergyadesz - bass, vocal
Andras Toth - guitar, banjo, dobro, mandolin, vocal

Congratulations to all the EWOB 2008 award winners, and many thanks to all the talented musicians who traveled to Holland to share their music at the EWOB 2008 Festival. It was unforgettable. 

Press release by Liz Meyer, May 2008


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